Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

Mortal Kombat Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts fantasy film directed by John R. Leonetti in his directorial debut. Based on the Mortal Kombat video game franchise, it is the second installment in the Mortal Kombat film series and a sequel to the original 1995 film, on which Leonetti served as cinematographer. Largely adapted from the 1995 video game Mortal Kombat 3, Annihilation follows Liu Kang and his allies as they attempt to prevent the malevolent Shao Kahn from conquering Earthrealm. It stars Robin Shou as Liu, Talisa Soto as Kitana, James Remar as Rayden, Sandra Hess as Sonya Blade, Lynn Red Williams as Jax and Brian Thompson as Kahn. Only Shou and Soto reprise their roles, with the other characters recast from the previous film. Mortal Kombat Annihilation was theatrically released on November 21, 1997 by New Line Cinema. The film debuted number one at the box office but quickly dropped the next week due to overwhelming lackluster reviews. Panned by critics, with particular negativity aimed at its story, characters and special effects, and a box office bomb, grossing $51.3 million against a $30 million budget, a direct sequel was cancelled. A third film languished in development hell for nearly two decades until the series was rebooted in 2021. Plot The Outworld emperor Shao Kahn opens a portal to Earthrealm and has resurrected Queen Sindel, Princess Kitana's long-deceased mother, to facilitate his invasion. Thunder god Rayden and Earthrealm warriors Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage try to defend themselves, but Kahn kills Cage. The Earthrealm warriors retreat to seek allies. Sonya Blade enlists the help of her Special Forces partner, Jax, while Kitana and Liu search for a Native American shaman named Nightwolf, who seemingly knows the key to defeating Kahn. Scorpion appears and kidnaps Kitana.